Terraria Server Permissions Guide with tShock
Set up groups, permissions, and user roles on your MANAfuel Terraria server using the tShock permission system.
Understand the tShock Permission System
tShock uses a group-based permission model. Every player belongs to a group, and groups have a list of allowed permissions. Default groups are guest (unauthenticated), default (registered), vip, and admin. Each permission is a dot-notation string like tshock.tp.self or tshock.world.modify. Permissions are additive — a group inherits all permissions from its parent group plus its own.
Register and Authenticate Players
New players join in the guest group. They register with /register password and log in with /login password on subsequent visits. Registered players move to the default group automatically. You can change which group registered players join by editing the default group settings. Authentication ensures player identity — important for persistent permissions and inventory protection.
Create Custom Groups
Use the REST API console in your MANAfuel dashboard or edit tshock/groups.json in the File Manager. Create groups for your community roles: /group add builder default — creates a "builder" group inheriting from "default." Then add permissions: /group addperm builder tshock.world.modify gives builders the ability to edit the world. Stack groups for different tiers — builder, moderator, admin.
Assign Players to Groups
Promote a player with /user group "PlayerName" builder to move them to the builder group. View a player's current group with /user info "PlayerName". For batch management, edit tshock/users.json in the File Manager. Each entry shows the player name, group, and registration date. Changes take effect immediately — no server restart needed.
Set Up Region Protection
tShock includes built-in region protection. Define a region with /region define RegionName to mark a rectangular area, then set permissions with /region protect RegionName. Only players with the region owner permission or the tshock.admin.region permission can modify protected regions. This prevents griefing in spawn areas, community builds, and admin structures without restricting building elsewhere.